


Behind File Cabinets

by Flammenkobold



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Fluff, Jealousy, Light Angst, Multi, Polyamory, Stealing Kisses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-17
Updated: 2017-12-17
Packaged: 2019-02-16 04:04:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13046109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flammenkobold/pseuds/Flammenkobold
Summary: The new team archives in transition. Jonathan tries to adjust to being back, but his assistants keep him off kilter.





	Behind File Cabinets

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dussek](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dussek/gifts).



Things have changed when Jonathan finally comes back to the Institute. He expected as much, it’d be silly not to. Still, it hits him always at the wrong moments, just how much Leitner’s murder has shaken up everything and how much has shifted in the time he spent hiding at Georgie’s place.

The most noticeable are Martin and Tim though. Well, second most, but they are what really stump him.

Martin is harder somehow, shaken by the events around Elias, no doubt, but nonetheless harder. Less forgiving too. He still brings Jonathan tea and talks animatedly about the nature channel, but he’s also learned to say no and to not back away from Jonathan’s moods.

And then there is Tim, Tim who still wears his sarcasm like a shield, but who is far more lenient towards Jonathan these days. He’s back to his more charming self as well, or at least he wears the mask well enough.

They’re closer, too, Jonathan thinks. It’s nothing he could pinpoint exactly, but they share glances now and then that hold entire conversations. There is a world of unspoken things in a single “Tim!” or “Martin.” that Jonathan misses entirely, even with his growing powers.

\---

“Seen a ghost?,” Melanie says to him in the hallway, peering around his shoulder to see for herself what he’s looking at.

“Dear lord,” he curses and turns around to her. “Don’t- don’t sneak up on me!” he tells her firmly.

“Sorry,” she says and sounds like she isn’t at all.

“Everything alright?” Martin’s voice sounds from the other end of the hallway, mildly worried, and Jonathan takes a deep breath before turning around.

“Yes, everything’s fine,” he tells him and can see Tim raising an eyebrow at him behind Martin’s back.

“Stalking your co-workers again?” he drawls, but it holds far less venom than it would have months ago.

“Tim,” Martin hisses, but even from a distance Jonathan can see the amused look on his face.

“Again?” Melanie asks and Jonathan can feel his headache forming. Especially when Tim opens his mouth to answer her.

“How about you tattle another time and go back to work,” he tells all of them, already fleeing in the direction of his office.

Even back there, in the confines of his office, it’s hard to shake the image lingering in his mind of Martin and Tim standing far too close together, arms touching, heads bowed over a file, as if in conspiracy. He’d like to say it’s suspicion that makes his stomach turn, but he knows it’s not.

\---

Martin stands too close behind him, reading parts of the statement over John’s shoulder. He should tell him to step back, should hand over the sheet of paper to make it easier for Martin to read. He doesn’t. Martin’s warmth seeps through his clothes into his back.

\---

He catches them in the safe room of the archive one day. It’s nothing indecent. He might have been even able to brush it away as a figment of his imagination, if it weren’t for Martin’s reaction. The faint blush to his cheek, the way he lowers his eyes quickly to avoid looking Jonathan in the eyes and how his gaze flickers back to Tim for a second, before squeezing through the door.

“Excuse me”, he mumbles as he passes Jonathan.

Tim doesn’t give him much of a reaction, just a too bright smile and waves the file in his hand. “Just doing some research.”

“I’m sure you were,” Jonathan manages to say.

Tim doesn’t even dignifies it with an answer.

He tries to get back to work himself, but it’s hard to focus on all the drivel that is stored in the archives in between the true statements. The quick kiss he saw two of his assistants share plays on repeat in his mind.

\---

“What are you doing!” The rage he feels is unexpected and hot and comes out of nowhere. It shouldn’t be of his concern at all.

Melanie extricates herself from Tim and doesn’t seem bothered at all that he caught them.

\---

It’s not his concern, he tells himself. It’s not. But he is still unjustly angry at Tim and Melanie for no reason. Or for no reason he particularly wants to admit to himself. It’s definitely not his business to intervene.

Still, the information slips out not even a few days after he’s seen Melanie and Tim wrapped around each other. Martin is leaning in too close, putting down a cup of tea carefully, as not to spill it on the statement Jonathan plans to record.

“I saw them. Tim and Melanie.” Slips out before he can think better about telling Martin.

“Huh?”

“I- they...were kissing. I thought you should now, what with- you know,” he grits out, feeling somewhat embarrassed by all of this.

“Oh,” Martin says and Jonathan half expects him to spill the tea. Martin doesn’t. “Thank you for telling me?”

Jonathan has a lot of questions that he doesn’t dare voice. The most prominent is why Martin doesn’t sound at all bothered by this. He’d expected, well, to be honest, more of a reaction from Martin. Instead Martin changes the topic, before he can even remotely bring it up.

“By the way, did you see the note Rosie left?”

\---

He should know better than to listen in to his co-workers without their knowledge by now. He shouldn’t be creeping behind the half-open door and watch Melanie and Martin talk in hushed voices.

“You think he figured it out yet?” Martin asks curiously. His face is turned away from Jonathan, but he can see Martin fiddling with the pen in his hands.

Melanie taps her finger against her chin. “Doubtful, he’s as thick as a bag of bricks.”

Jonathan feels his old paranoia rising again. But there is something in Melanie’s voice that doesn’t make him think that they are planning his murder.

“I just…” Martin starts but doesn’t finish his thought. “You know?” And from his position Jonathan can see Melanie roll her eyes.

“Give it some time or, you know, just tell him,” Melanie says.

“Yes....maybe? No? Perhaps, I mean-” Martin sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “This is kind of awkward?”

“You’re an idiot.” The fondness with which she says it defy her words. Martin laughs softly.

“Sure, but you are in it too,” he says teasingly.

“God knows why.” Melanie looks around quickly but doesn’t notice Jonathan in the shadows of the half closed door. And then she stands up on her toes and plants a quick kiss on Martin’s lips.

\----

That evening Melanie insists on them going out for a few drinks and Martin joins in. Tim just shrugs and agrees with them. Jonathan doesn’t particularly feel like it, but when Melanie and Martin team up on him, it feels like even the Beholding couldn’t make him stay behind. So he joins them.

They find an empty booth at the pub and Melanie squeezes in beside him, while Tim and Martin sit down on the other side. Jonathan drowns the pang of something in his chest with a large gulp from his glass.

One beer turns into two and then Tim orders shots. Perhaps it’s a mistake that he joins in. After the fourth shot Melanie drags him into an argument about ghosts and whether or not they are real or just extensions of the powers they encountered.

He gets distracted from his own argument by one of Martin’s laughs and when he looks over Tim is whispering into Martin’s ear, one arm wrapped around his shoulder. Martin looks relaxed and his cheeks are flushed from alcohol.

“Tim!”

Tim only laughs and the second he draws away Martin looks at him all warm and soft and happy. There is a glint in Tim’s eyes and a mischievous smile on his lips but he looks just as softly at Martin as Martin is looking at him. It suits Tim. Something settles in Jonathan’s stomach that is an indefinable burning mess.

“Like what you see?” Melanie whispers into his ear, wringing a yelp of surprise out of him. And that’s it, that’s too much and he needs to get out.

\---

Martin catches up to him just outside the pub.

“John? Are you okay?”

“Fine. Just… I needed some air,” he settles on, trying his best to avoid Martin’s concerned look.

“Yeah, it’s very crowded in there,” Martin says and Jonathan wonders when Martin had learned to keep his voice blank. “I can keep you company for a bit?”

“No. It’s fine. You should go back in. I don’t think I’ll be staying anyway.”

“I’ll bring you home.” It’s not framed as a question and it strikes him again how much Martin has changed in his absence.

“I think I can find the way on my own,” he says scaldingly, a poor attempt at getting back some semblance of control. “And I doubt Tim would be too happy.”

Martin just shrugs, gives him a kind smile. “They’ll be fine. Come on let’s get you home.”

Jonathan has to close his eyes, there are so many questions on the tip of his tongue, but they all seem to lead to something dangerous, so he swallows them.

\---

He still doesn’t feel completely sober when they reach his flat. Martin says goodbye and before he can keep himself from it he calls out to him. “Martin!” Martin turns to him, confusion written over his face and Jonathan feels unmoored, because he has absolutely no idea what he wants to say or do. “I- Good night,” he repeats.

Martin looks at him and then walks back, takes Jonathan’s lapels in his hands and leans down. He doesn’t know what to do, whether to push back, because this is kind of inappropriate, or whether to kiss back - so he ends up doing neither.

“Good night,” Martin mutters against his lips and then he is gone.

\---

“Why didn’t you kiss him back,” Melanie asks out of nowhere and Jonathan almost drops the files he’s been carrying.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me.”

“What- how- no, never mind! It’s none of your business,” he splutters.

“I’d say it is,” she retorts.

“Why- what is even going on with the three of you!” He ends up back at indignant, because it feels safer.

Melanie just gives him a pitying look. “You’re a researcher, figure it out,” she says and leans in to give him a peck on the corner of his mouth. It doesn’t leave as long of a lingering sensation as Martin’s kiss, but even an hour later he finds himself rubbing the corner of his mouth.

\---

Tim is going through old boxes, sorting the statements from the fifties. “So what do you want from me?” he says, eyeing a file before throwing onto a pile at his side. Jonathan feels a headache starting between his eyes.

“An answer,” he snaps. Tim throws another file on the growing pile and gets up, dusting off his trousers.

“Fine,” he says. “Fine, you want an answer?” The fury in his eyes keep Jonathan rooted to the spot. “We’re all going to die horribly, we’re all stuck here,” Tim says as he walks closer. “None of us is going to get a happily after,” he continues as he steps neatly into Jonathan’s space. “But you know what? Screw this.” He twists his hands in Jonathan’s jumper and looks him directly in the eyes. “If we can just squeeze one ounce of happiness out of this godawful situation we’re caught in, if we can just tell the darkness that is going to eat us to back off for one second longer, maybe, maybe it’s all worth.” Jonathan feels his own heart beat a little bit faster and when he tightly grips Tim’s wrist, he can feel his too fast pulse too. “Maybe getting Martin to laugh and Melanie to smile and perhaps even getting you to relax for one second, means that not everything is terrible.”

“What about you,” he asks, even if this should be the last question on his mind, even though he knows the answer deep down. Tim gives him a smile that’s too sharp and too bitter and Jonathan yanks at his arms.

He wants to be selfish too, wants to be part of whatever this is. Wants to feel like there is one thing in this world he doesn’t have to worry about, despite it being out of his control. Wants to feel like he has some choice left in the path ahead. Him and Tim are similar in this.

When Tim finally draws back, leaving Jonathan out of breath and his lips stinging, he leans forward and rests their foreheads together.

“Talk to Martin,” Tim says.

\--

“Can we talk?” he asks Martin who is making tea. “About last night?”

Martin turns to him, jittery and nervous. “Sure?” he says and ignores the electrical kettle switching off. “Listen, if I-”

“Martin!” He interrupts him. “Just let me finish. Please.”

“Okay?”

And just like this Jonathan finds himself at a loss of words.

“Uh- so you were saying?” Martin prompts him.

“I-” Jonathan starts and feels himself unable to continue. Instead he steps closer to Martin and carefully raises a hand to rest it against Martin’s cheek, who starts to smile. “Can I- is this okay?” he asks shakily.

Martin nods vigorously. “More than okay,” he says and Jonathan let’s out a relieved laugh. It doesn’t last long as Martin steals the sound from his lips.

\---

He doesn’t know what to make of this tangled relationship he found himself in. The stolen kisses at work, the messy negotiations outside of it, before they slip right into this little corner in the world they carved for themselves. But it makes him smile unexpectedly and not lose hope or his mind entirely. So maybe that’s worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> Dussek had a lot of very lovely prompts for Yuletide, but this one just stuck with me: "fluffy poly team trying to keep it professional in the archives while occasionally stealing little kisses behind file cabinets." Hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
